Providence, RI

March 2014

Rising Star Chef Matt Jennings grew up fishing with his stepdad off the coast of New England, the duo ritually roasting their catch whole and eventually slathering it with homemade sriracha. And while his stepfather passed away in 2013 (Jennings’s bluefish tattoo memorializes him), the love for product he learned in those years has defined Jennings as a chef.

Co-owner with his wife, Kate Jennings, of Farmstead Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island, Jennings does food from the roots up. Only his scope is wider than New England, incorporating the world of influences he encountered as a culinary student at the New England Culinary Institute and then in a variety of kitchens all over the country.

A sojourn with Formaggio Kitchen landed Jennings a newfound love of cheese and charcuterie (and his future wife), while travels to the United Kingdom, Italy, and France expanded his fromaggier’s palate. Back on the East Coast, a master cheesemonger, and four-time James Beard nominee, Jennings creates potent and powerful dishes that harken back to the honesty and product-perfection of his youth.